Visiting: Three in the Valley

We headed out last night to visit three temples in the South Salt Lake Valley: Draper, Oquirrh Mountain, and Jordan River. Our health and weather weren't the best (had to bring along a bowl in case Paige puked...and had to view some from the car because of the rainstorm), but it was still good to get out!

First up: Draper. I was surprised by how beautiful the drive up to it was - a beautiful mountainside with hiking trail heads that we want to return to. I was surprised by how many huge houses seemed to sit so close to the temple's doorstep. But with one's back turned to the residential, there were still some dramatic views, especially with the incoming clouds.


We climbed back into to seatbelts and headed back down the road. On the way to each temple, to distract them from the driving time, Matt would ask if one of the kids could "help him find/see" the temple. It had them questioning his ability to find places. I just sat back and smiled as I heard the following conversation in the car:

Matt: "Ok, look out for a temple around here!"
Meg: " Do you really know how to get there?"
Matt: "Ya, I know how to get to everything."
Paige: "Do you know how to get to Heaven?"
Matt: "Yes."
Paige: "Let go there!"
Meg: "Ya, let's go now!"
Paige: "Do you know how to get to Hell?"
Matt: "Um, Yes..."

Shortly after that questioning we made it to the second stop - the Oqquirh temple. This building is much smaller, and again among many modern subdivisions. The rain was coming down, so pictures were taken for the comfort of the car. If the girls wanted to be in a picture, they had to run out and pose within zoomable range - hence the "Here, Mom?" yell from Paige. By this point in the night, Paige was a bit less lethargic and actually hungry (!!). She was willing to pose by Meg - Meg's posing perkiness!

After a quick pitstop at my oldest sister's nearby house for icecream, we made a driveby of temple number three of the night. It was past bedtime and the kids were exhausted. Even I was a bit out of the mood when it meant continual turns past brightly lit storefronts and stops at city lights. But, when we pulled up next to the lit temple, we were excited to see it. Even Tyler perked up to point to and say "temple" in his own little way: "Bumple!"

It's silhouette against the night's dark sky was a good conclusion to our Sunday. Easy, really, to hit all three in an evening and then head back home to our beds. We're blessed to have so many options so close.

Utah Temples to Tour:

Bountiful

Brigham City

Draper

Jordan River

Logan

Manti

Monticello

Mount Timpanogos

Ogden

Oquirrh Mountain

Payson

Provo

St. George

Salt Lake

Vernal